Agincourt Collegiate Institute


Agincourt Collegiate Institute, formerly known as Agincourt High School and Agincourt Continuation School is a secondary school located in Agincourt, a neighbourhood in the Scarborough area of Toronto, Ontario owned and operated by the Toronto District School Board that was sanctioned by the Scarborough Board of Education prior to amalgamation in 1998.
A.C.I is one of the oldest surviving secondary high schools in the former Scarborough in the north, the other being R. H. King Academy in the south.

History

The school, founded in 1915 as Agincourt Continuation School to provide part of the then secondary schooling in the Agincourt area. Until 1929 it was housed on the second floor in what is now Agincourt Junior Public School building on the west side of Midland Avenue north of Sheppard Avenue.
With the opening of Scarborough High School, the first traditional high school in Scarborough, in 1922, the school was evolved into Agincourt High School in 1930, with its first permanent home opened on the east side of Midland Avenue in 1929, a three floor brick building.
After the Scarborough Board of Education was formed in 1954, the second and current building replaced the second school in 1956. Agincourt High was re-established as Agincourt Collegiate Institute in 1957. The current ACI was built by the firm Craig, Madill, Abram and Ingleson. The 1929 building was demolished in 1966 to pave way for the auditorium and second double gymnasium with a smaller single gym. Additional classrooms and shops were added later on.
Currently its feeder schools are Sir Alexander Mackenzie Senior Public School, Henry Kelsey Senior Public School, and Sir Ernest MacMillan Senior Public School. In September 2011, Emily Carr Public School with a grade 4 Extended French Programme which started in 2006, became another feeder school for Extended French students.
ACI is located in the region of Agincourt, one of the most ethnically diverse communities in Scarborough., 39% of the student body speaks a primary language other than English at home as often as English, and 18% of its students speak mostly or only a language other than English.
Agincourt C.I. commemorated their 50th anniversary in 1965, 75th anniversary in 1990 and their 100th centennial anniversary in 2015.

Special programs

Advanced Placement Program

Agincourt CI offers the advanced placement program for physics, chemistry, biology, statistics, calculus and vectors, and French since the beginning of September 2006.

French Program

Agincourt also offers French Immersion and Extended French programs from Grades 9 through 12. Students have the opportunity of studying various subject areas such as français, arts dramatiques, arts visuels, éducation physique, mathématique, géographie, histoire, informatique. After accumulating the required number of credits, students receive an Immersion or Extended French Bilingual Certificate with possible honors.

Music Program

ACI is well known for their award-winning music program. The ACI Music department prides itself on the idea of "Tradition, Excellence and Legacy". Currently, there are 16 performing ensembles at Agincourt C.I. as well as a music technology program. They are:
GradeWindsStringsChoirJazz
9Wind EnsembleConcert OrchestraConcert ChoirLittle Bits O' Jazz
10Wind EnsembleConcert OrchestraConcert ChoirXperiment
11Wind SymphonySymphony OrchestraAgincourt SingersNorth East Jazz
12Festival WindsChamber OrchestraMadrigal SingersNorth East Jazz

Design, IT, Automotive, and Tech

Agincourt C.I. has a small, yet strong technology education department. Courses range from integrated technology to Robotics to animation/mechanical design, to computer science, to automotive technology. The school is also equipped with an in-school, 2-bay automotive workshop. In 2013, two students from the automotive classes won the Toronto Automotive Technology Competition. Agincourt is also home to their Award-winning First Robotics Team 1246 Skunkworks which competes at Ontario District FRC Events. The Robotics Program at Agincourt offers students an opportunity to explore the application of Mechanical Engineering at the grade 10,11 and 12 levels. A Specialist High Skills Major is offered in Manufacturing Engineering for Grade 11/12.

Specialist High Skills Major

Agincourt C.I. is one of the few schools in the GTA that offer the Specialist High Skills Major program for students with outstanding academic grades in a specialized field. Some mandatory courses such as a two credit or four credit co-op are required to graduate in the program. On completion, students enrolled in the program are honored with a red seal on their graduation diploma, representing the success they have achieved.

Ottey Walk

Every year ACI holds a walk to remember Marsha and Tamara Ottey. Marsha, 19, was a track star at the school and had been awarded a track scholarship just weeks before she was murdered and Tamara, 16, was the star athlete of the ACI flag football team. The two young women were murdered by Marsha's ex-boyfriend in 1995 and starting the year after, the walk was held once a year every year in their memory.

Notable staff